Historically, the socio-economic fabric of Indian society has been changeful. Even though India has a rich culture and heritage, the effect of the varying social factors, from the prevalence of princely monarchs, to the hegemony of the middle-eastern and European rulers, Indian social makeup has witnessed many sequels. Because of its unique collective structure, the concept of crime in India needs an equally unique code of conduct. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) serves the need by covering all the major and minor aspects of criminal law in India. The 2019 IPC Crime data displays 140+ different acts of crime identified by the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The data is depicted in a geospatial visualization of the Indian map, highlighting the number of crimes recorded in each district of India. The intensity of the color indicates a greater or lesser value of the IPC crime in a district. The brighter red color represents a higher value of the crime, while a lighter tone represents a lower value of the same crime in the district. For instance, let us look at the geospatial heatmap for Sexual Harassment recognized under section 354A of the Indian Penal Code. While most of the districts depict lesser cases (highlighted in white and light pink), a significant number of cases have been recorded in the capital district Delhi (439), Bareilly (356), Aligarh (289), Allahabad (264), Sultanpur (239), among other districts of Uttar Pradesh, and Mumbai (413), Thane (259), Pune (252), among those of Maharashtra. Similarly, a single value selection of any IPC crime takes you through the number of recorded cases in the districts of India.
A careful look at the overall magnitude of the presented IPC crimes, Offences against Human Body has the highest number of reported cases. Among these, Kolkata district of West Bengal, the capital district of Delhi, Mumbai district in Maharashtra, district Patna in Bihar, and Hyderabad district of Telangana have the most significant number of reported cases. Similarly, Offences Against Poverty is the IPC Crime with the second-highest cumulative number of reported cases, with Delhi having the highest number of reported cases. Let's take a glance at the regional distinction of the total number of criminal acts reported under the Indian Penal Code. It can be observed that the registered number of IPC crimes is more or less similarly distributed. However, a zoom-in into each region reveals more significant insights.
In the northern region of India, a higher number of criminal activities is observed in the districts encompassing the major cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, followed by districts adjacent to these areas like Ghaziabad, Meerut, Gurgaon, Kanpur, among others. A closer glance at the Eastern and Northeastern region brings up Patna district in Bihar having more reported delinquencies. Scrolling more towards eastern India, Kolkata district has the highest number of crimes reported in the area. In contrast, among the northeastern districts, those in Assam, such as Nagaon, Jorhat, Barpeta, and Kamrup, have more criminal activity than the other districts.
Towards the south, Hyderabad district in Telangana, Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, Chennai district in Tamil Nadu, Bangalore district in Karnataka, and Ernakulam in Kerala have the highest number of IPC crimes reported respectively (highlighted in pink tone). In the western Indian region, Maharashtrian districts of Mumbai, Pune, and Thane showcase more overall IPC crimes, followed by the Ahmedabad and Surat districts of Gujarat. In the Central region, Bhopal, Indore, and Gwalior districts of Madhya Pradesh have seen a larger number of crimes reported under IPC.
To sum up, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official body that provides criminal code in India. In the interactive geospatial heatmap, more crimes have been reported in the districts with a higher population, such as those of Uttar Pradesh, in the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata, and in major capital cities such as Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, and Bhopal, to name a few. Conclusively, the IPC criminal activity is more or less proportional to the region's population density and socio-economic structure.